The final segment of the full-scale version of a five-segment solid rocket motor for SLS completed preparations Dec. 15 at ATK's facility in Promontory, Utah. After technicians installed instrumentation, the segment was transported to ATK's test area.

There, it is being integrated with the other segments for the first booster qualification test firing, scheduled for March.

The largest, most powerful booster ever built for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), will fire up for a ground test at 11:30 a.m. EDT (9:30 a.m. MDT) Wednesday, March 11, at Orbital ATK Propulsion Systems’ test facilities in Promontory, Utah.

NASA Television will air a NASA Social on Tuesday, March 10 and the test on Wednesday.

The two-minute static test is a significant milestone for the SLS as part of NASA’s journey to Mars, and follows years of development. It is one of two ground tests to qualify the booster for flight. A second test is planned for early 2016. Once qualification is complete, the hardware will be ready to help send the rocket, along with NASA’s Orion spacecraft, on its first flight test.

This past evening (March 5) ATK held an open house for the local community to come and take a close up look at the motor, and to get information about environmental concerns about the test (there are none, but there was someone who went bonkers a few years back…). I attended and took a number of photos http://up-ship.com/blog/?p=28281 of the motor and other stuff. This was one of those cases where it would have been better to get *more distance* from the subject; but you make do with what ya got.

Starting at "Motor Segment Castable Inhibitor Preperation" (0:45) they put a lot of tubes on the cast propellant and then apply an inhibitor. What is the purpose of this?

After the propellant is cast, the top surface needs to be prepared and levelled before the inhibitor layer is poured. This is done by placing "inhibitor depression mold plates" on top of the cast propellant - these are the multiple segments you see in the video. As the plates are depressed to form a smooth propellant surface at the correct height, excess propellant oozes up into the white tubes built into the plates.

The propellant is partially cured (44 hrs at 135°F), at which point the tubes with excess propellant are removed along with the plates. The remaining "stubs" of propellant from the tubes are shaved flush with the rest of the surface formed by the mold plates. The inhibitor layer is applied and final curing of the the whole assembly takes place (52 hrs at 135°F, followed by a minimum 24 hr cool to 60°F or less).

Inhibitor layers are only applied to the aft faces of the forward and center segments. It stops the propellant prematurely burning down these surfaces (the joints between segments) during booster operation - you want the burn to take place only on the inner core surfaces.

Is there a good (or even barely acceptable) location to view this test firing for the general public - just in case you aren't a member of the media or an ATK employee?

Quote

A public viewing area is available along State Road 83 North approximately 20 miles west of Corinne, Utah (see map – follow directions to Promontory). The gate to the public viewing area opens at 7 a.m. Mar. 11. Overflow parking is available if needed.

Is there a good (or even barely acceptable) location to view this test firing for the general public - just in case you aren't a member of the media or an ATK employee?

Quote

A public viewing area is available along State Road 83 North approximately 20 miles west of Corinne, Utah (see map – follow directions to Promontory). The gate to the public viewing area opens at 7 a.m. Mar. 11. Overflow parking is available if needed.

A public viewing area is available along State Road 83 North approximately 20 miles west of Corinne, Utah (see map – follow directions to Promontory). The gate to the public viewing area opens at 7 a.m. Mar. 11. Overflow parking is available if needed.

Is this the location for the public viewing area? The map isn't very clear. 41.638944, -112.424622I've got a 4 hour drive from Idaho tomorrow morning. Just want to be sure I know where I'm going. Thanks!

Given the image catdlr attached above, I thought the nozzle was attached well before an engine is used, yet the photo implies they attached it very recently. At what point in processing was (will) the nozzle be attached for SLS processing? As well, are those components seen inside the aft skirt the HPU/TVC packages?Thanks, and good luck today!

I heard mention of the TVC actuation (and actually saw it during the test). As this is QM, do they actually move the nozzle through the identical motions that would be used to launch to 28.5 degrees/pitch maneuver for a port booster and/or a starboard booster? Along those lines, is any roll needed considering there is no sidemount?

I heard mention of the TVC actuation (and actually saw it during the test). As this is QM, do they actually move the nozzle through the identical motions that would be used to launch to 28.5 degrees/pitch maneuver for a port booster and/or a starboard booster? Along those lines, is any roll needed considering there is no sidemount?

Yes there will be a roll program to change SLS's attitude (for a number of reasons) like Saturn V.

The largest, most powerful rocket booster ever built successfully fired up Wednesday for a major-milestone ground test in preparation for future missions to help propel NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft to deep space destinations, including an asteroid and Mars.

The booster fired for two minutes, the same amount of time it will fire when it lifts the SLS off the launch pad, and produced about 3.6 million pounds of thrust. The test was conducted at the Promontory, Utah test facility of commercial partner Orbital ATK, and is one of two tests planned to qualify the booster for flight. Once qualified, the flight booster hardware will be ready for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first SLS flight.

"The work being done around the country today to build SLS is laying a solid foundation for future exploration missions, and these missions will enable us to pioneer far into the solar system," said William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s associate administrator for human exploration and operations. "The teams are doing tremendous work to develop what will be a national asset for human exploration and potential science missions."

It took months to heat the 1.6 million pound booster to 90 degrees Fahrenheit to verify its performance at the highest end of the booster’s accepted propellant temperature range. A cold-temperature test, at a target of 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the low end of the propellant temperature range, is planned for early 2016. These two tests will provide a full range of data for analytical models that inform how the booster performs. During the test, temperatures inside the booster reached more than 5,600 degrees.

"This test is a significant milestone for SLS and follows years of development," said Todd May, SLS program manager. "Our partnership with Orbital ATK and more than 500 suppliers across the country is keeping us on the path to building the most powerful rocket in the world."

During the test, more than 531 instrumentation channels on the booster were measured to help assess some 102 design objectives. The test also demonstrated the booster meets applicable ballistic performance requirements, such as thrust and pressure. Other objectives included data gathering on vital motor upgrades, such as the new internal motor insulation and liner and an improved nozzle design.

When completed, two five-segment boosters and four RS-25 main engines will power the SLS on deep space missions. The 177-feet-long solid rocket boosters operate in parallel with the main engines for the first two minutes of flight. They provide more than 75 percent of the thrust needed for the rocket to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth.

The first flight test of SLS will be configured for a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit to test the performance of the integrated system. The SLS will later be configured to provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions farther into our solar system.

(Promontory, Utah, 11 March 2015) – NASA and Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA) today conducted the first qualification ground test of the five-segment rocket motor that will be used for NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS), which is being designed to enable exciting new exploration missions throughout the solar system.

The successful pre-flight test, known as Qualification Motor 1 (QM-1), is an important milestone in validating the rocket motor’s use for SLS and its deep space missions. Initial test data indicate the motor performed as designed and delivered the anticipated performance. The rocket motor produced approximately 3.6 million pounds of thrust (equivalent to 22 million horsepower) and fired for just over two minutes. More data will be available as post-test analysis is accomplished on the 102 design objectives that are supported by 531 instrumentation channels.

“This motor firing is the first of two qualification tests to certify the motor configuration for NASA’s Space Launch System,” said Charlie Precourt, Vice President and General Manager of Orbital ATK’s Propulsion Systems Division, and four-time space shuttle astronaut. “The data from today and from our three development motor tests, along with information we have collected on hundreds of predecessor motors over the past three decades, confirms this is the most capable and powerful solid rocket motor ever designed.”

Measuring 12 feet in diameter and 154 feet in length, Orbital ATK’s five-segment motor is the largest human-rated solid rocket motor built today. When it is fully assembled as a booster, it will be 177 feet tall (approximately 17 stories). It produces 20 percent more power than the previously-used four-segment motor, and it also uses new materials that provide cost and weight savings. The five-segment motor was designed to maximize safety while providing a reliable and affordable launch capability for human missions deeper in the solar system than we have ever gone before – including to the surface of Mars.

“NASA’s SLS, along with the Orion crew capsule, enables us to blaze new trails, and embark on missions to deep space that leverage more than five decades of pushing boundaries,” said Blake Larson, Orbital ATK’s Chief Operating Officer. “Deep space missions require a heavy-lift vehicle to ensure success, and SLS and Orion can accomplish a deep space mission in fewer launches than current or planned vehicles.”

Today’s qualification test included newly-designed avionics hardware and equipment to control the motor and provide improved test monitoring capability. Other test improvements include a new main pivot flexure design in the forward thrust block to transfer the massive forces from the test into the various load cells for thrust monitoring, as well as an added mid-span support that assisted in adjusting the motor centerline to make the test more consistent with actual flight conditions.

“This is an exciting time for exploration, as we venture farther into space,” said Precourt. “The promise of deep space exploration will inspire the next generation to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math – preparing them to run the missions we’re designing.”

NASA’s SLS will launch on its first mission, Exploration Mission-1, in just a few years. The next major milestones for SLS include Boeing’s Vertical Assembly Center core stage welding, continued testing of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RS-25 engine at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, avionics and controls testing at Marshall Space Flight Center, and Orbital ATK’s QM-2 static firing next year.

Published on Mar 11, 2015Gordie Russell, Orbital ATK program manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, talks about the process of the March 11 booster qualification test. The firing is one of two tests that will qualify the booster design for the first flight of the SLS.

Published on Mar 11, 2015NASA and Orbital ATK are making major modifications to the solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s new rocket, the Space Launch System, to deep space destinations, like an asteroid and ultimately Mars.

Hello guys, I watched this replay and found sth interesting: @42:33 you can see a moving object against the red tank. What could it be, a birdie or a moving cam? Seems more likely to be a bird since it is 'nodding'.

I take it that the jagged material is what is left of the insulation that covers the end of each segment. I am amazed that so much is left, considering that this section of material would be perpendicular to the exhaust of the booster. It must bode well to how well the walls must have held up.